Are my stamps of any value?

When it comes to valuing stamps, age is less
of a factor in determining value, than rarity. Many valuable stamps are 50 or
more years old. A greater number of 50+ year-old stamps are not valuable. Most
modern stamps are common yet some which are worth thousands of pounds. Valuable
modern stamps are from emergency (low) printings or are of stamps with a
printing error, such as a missing colour.

The chances of finding
rare stamps in general world collections are remote. If little was spent on a
collection, it is unlikely to be worth very much even fifty years later. .

Damp will damage stamps
in two ways. First it will react with the gum, causing the stamps to stick to
anything they are next to. Even if they don’t too much moisture leaves
tell-tale traces in the gum afterwards. Damp also promotes the growth of paper
fungus to eat away at the paper fibres. Both ways devalue stamps.